Coming Up Close

Cruise ship season started about a month ago, the one in port this was is the Amsterdam all the way from the Netherlands. At 238m long it can hold 1380 passengers and 647 crew. The skies over Pilot Bay this morning were a bit overcast with blue trying to peep through. I heard these two ladies talking on the wharf and judging from the conversation one of them is all the way from Orlando. Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Sometimes I like to walk along the beach and check out some of the life that's washed up. This curious concoction (above) is something that intrigued me, I can see shells underneath but not sure what the red blobs or the white bubbles are up on top. Sea lettuce attached to shells doesn't surprise me. Every Summer around January this green stuff gets washed up over the waves, sometimes it's a bit of a pain. Different kinds of seaweed and sponge get washed up, I like the ones that you can pop with your fingers. This lone starfish was all by itself, seems something might have had a munch on the ends before the tide bought it up to the beach. Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

We've had a run of fine warm early Summer weather here so I've been taking advantage of it and getting out every day. Yesterday the waves were foamy with surfers out on the waves plus this happy dog bounding along in the tide. Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

It's been so gloriously warm and sunny here it's good to get out and see everyone else enjoying the scenery. It's amazing how peoples attitudes change when we have blue skies and sunshine, it's like when it rains people are gloomy and less tolerant - at the moment there are good attitudes from everyone, nice to see :-) Photo taken on Tauranga's waterfront - The Strand .

Lately we've been travelling out and about to local areas and trying to not go too far so last weekend on the way back home we stopped in at a local Marae that I didn't know existed. The Whareroa Marae is about 10 minutes from where we live on the outskirts of an industrial area near the harbour. The primary hapu (a division of Maori people or their community) for the marae are Ngai Tukairangi and Ngati Kuku (tribes). Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

Sometimes at night in the late Spring air it's nice to get out for a walk instead of in the mornings. Sunday night I did just that...and here is the end result - pink and blue skies with a nice set of reflections over the sand just as the tide was going out. Hope your week has been good. Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Most people put their Christmas lights and decorations up in December, right? After a beach walk on Sunday night I was on my way home and spied this house around the corner from ours brightly lit up and decorated with lights including two reindeers in the front yard. I enjoy seeing how people decorate their houses differently from each other but it's very stereotypical that Christmas is all about snow and cold and winter. Here in NZ we have Summer, beaches, barbeques and hot weather - I'd love to see some decorations and lights that suit us down under. Think I'll get our lights out in a couple of weeks...

Just a short distance out of South Auckland in this quaint quiet area near the Bombay Hills is this wee church, St Mary on the Hill Anglican Parish .  According to the website a small wooden church was originally built was built around the 1860s but was destroyed by a fire in the 1867 so worship services were held around the area in different places including the local school. But as the population grew so did the need for a church. In 1890 Francis Pyne arrived from England and bought 700 acres of land for his benefactor Harriet Johnston who came to NZ about a year later. A large home was built for her in which she lived in until she died in 1916. In 1899 she offered to pay for the Anglican Church to be built in an imposing Gothic revival and the wages of the resident clergyman and the church of St Mary on the Hill was consecrated by Bishop Cowie in 1901. Linking up with Our World Tuesday :-)

With the weather so fine and sunny lately I've been getting out more and more for beach walks. Sunday's one saw lots more people doing just the same including these girls making sandcastles near the walkway. Better enjoy it while we can, I hear there's another cold snap coming... Linking up with Skywatch Friday :-)

Yesterday on a quiet day off we drove out to Huhurua Park, about half an hour out of Tauranga so the other half could fly his drone, as it turned out his battery for it wasn't charged so I walked around the grounds with my camera anyway. Apparently on the site there use to be a Maori Pa, although there wasn't any direct evidence of such as the ruins are probably long gone there is still these carvings which have been placed there to show what was once there.  The view from the edge of the cliff over Omokoroa and Plummer's Point show the tide out in the harbour and the flame tree on the right adds some vibrant colour.

Yesterday was the first time in 2 weeks I was able to get out for a proper walk, still coughing a bit here and there but definitely felt good to breathe in some fresh air. Today is my day off so I'm enjoying watching the series "Outlander". Have a good Friday :-) Linking up with Skywatch Fridays .

Finally some sunshine here! Last week I spotted this lady in the morning warmth sitting on a picnic bench with her coffee enjoying the view of the beach and horizon. Looks like a good spot to sit and think... Nearby is the Tay Street Cafe, very local to us and apparently has a good name for making good coffee and food. We haven't been there yet but as you can see from the building the cafe is at the bottom next to a hairdresser's and above are some apartments which overlook the beach. I'd say they definitely have a good view wouldn't you? I've seen alot of posts about Halloween, I could post about it but unfortunately here in NZ it's not as popular as it is in other countries around the world. We had dress up day yesterday at work and people seemed to enjoy it - we had no trick or treaters here but mind you we live in an apartment block next door to mostly retired people so not many families in this area.